Dodd-Frank

The agency is still moving forward on key regulations dealing with payday lending and mortgage underwriting despite new demands posed by the crisis.

After budget cuts and a strategic transition, the interagency body conceived by Dodd-Frank to identify systemic threats has largely been silent as the pandemic roils the economy.

The central bank's sweeping actions suggest a cash shortage gripping sectors directly hit by the pandemic. Banks were supposed to be protected by Dodd-Frank but are still vulnerable to a funding domino effect.

Refinancing activity is surging, existing borrowers are inquiring about loan modifications, loan closings are being delayed by more complex credit checks — and banks are short on people to handle it all.

If banks are unable to weather the economic fallout from the outbreak, calls for more dramatic reforms could get louder.

The agency's effort to engage with lawmakers on a whistleblower award program is one of three initiatives the bureau announced to advance its strategy of preventing consumer harm.

The court’s liberal bloc and Chief Justice John Roberts, who holds a crucial swing vote, appeared reluctant to remove a contentious provision that limits a president’s ability to fire a sitting director of the bureau.

John Roberts could play a familiar role as the swing vote in determining whether the Supreme Court curbs the consumer bureau’s power.

The release of Richard Cordray's retrospective of his tenure will come one day before the Supreme Court hears a pivotal case about the leadership structure of the agency.

A proposed change could resurrect bond buckets, but loan industry observers also point to "covered fund" changes shielding loans from a potentially disruptive court decision.